Records of the secretaries of state as organised by the State Paper Office.
State papers are arranged into geographical categories (domestic (ie England and Wales), Scotland, Ireland and foreign) within which there are usually series by reign or place. There are also series of printed gazettes, pamphlets, maps and catalogues.
The papers mainly date from the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) to 1782.
SP 72, SP 73 and SP 74 are numbers not used.